12 January 2006 Edition

Celtic clocks on hold!

BY Matt Treacy

2006 began last weekend with the Connacht FBD League and the McGrath,
McKenna and O'Byrne Cups in Munster, Ulster and Leinster. These competitions
are very much secondary or even tertiary to the Provincial championships and
National League but they are important testing grounds and have provided
good entertainment, especially in Ulster and Leinster over the past few
years.

Certainly the 8,000 who turned up at Omagh for the Tyrone-Down game, were
not disappointed. Tyrone only started four of the 15 who began the
All-Ireland Final against Kerry but emerged 2-12 to 0-11 victors over a Down
team which included 12 of those who played a part in their losing qualifier
against Derry last July. It is early days, but it betokens a potentially
yawning abyss between Tyrone and most of their provincial competitors, not
to mention the rest of the country!

There were a few surprises in the weekend's matches. Armagh were held to a
draw by the University of Ulster, Jordanstown at Crossmaglen. On paper it
was a strong home side but the students were by all accounts the fitter and
Armagh paid the price for a ridiculous amount of wides. Queens beat Antrim
in Belfast while Sligo defeated Galway at Tuam having come from seven points
behind.

Elsewhere, and more predictably, Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan had wins in the
McKenna Cup. In Leinster Kildare, Westmeath, Louth, Meath and Offaly were
successful. In Connacht, Leitrim and Roscommon beat student opposition while
Tipperary defeated the Cork Institute of Technology in the McGrath Cup. On
Saturday Mayo overcame NUI Galway at Ballinrobe. On Monday this week, Cork
easily overcame the Institute of Technology, Tralee with left corner forward
Robert O'Mahony scoring an amazing 3-5.

Floodlights have by now spread beyond the sophisticated technological
centres of Dublin, Cork and Tralee and were used last Thursday night when
the Wexford footballers beat Wicklow at Craanford. This was the first match
Wexford have played since coming under the wing of Paul Bealin who won an
All Ireland with Dublin in 1995. Bealin's loyalty will be tested on Sunday,
assuming Dublin overcame UCD on Wednesday at Coolock, when Wexford and the
Dubs meet in the next round.

Bealin was a "neighbour's child" and when I was in Portlaoise his father
asked my Da if I could make a mirror with Paul's photo on it. Being an
intellectual of course I couldn't but I did manage to contract it out to
Matt Hennessy in return for food. It was a very basic economy. A bit like
North Korea except the speeches were longer.

Anyway, the Bealins were delighted with the mirror and I was sent in the
jersey that Paul had worn in the replay of the 1993 League Final in which
Dublin beat Donegal by ten points to six, thus exacting revenge for the
previous September's All-Ireland defeat. Well, not quite.

The jersey became a treasured possession and I wore it on the day that the
Dubs finally overcame their demons in September 1995. I steadfastly refused
to buy one of the new jerseys that appeared each year and it survived up to
2000 when I made the grievous error of lending it to my sister for a match
in Navan.

My constant requests for it to be returned met for some weeks with evasion
and lies until eventually the truth emerged. She had thrown it out. When I
was able to speak I attempted to reason with her. How could she? "But sure
it was old and had blood on it". Old and had blood on it. Like the Turin
Shroud maybe. Or the flag that had flown over the GPO in 1916. We no longer
speak of it.

Well, it looks like the next generation of Celtic clocks — the ones with
Pádraig Pearse and the Pope in the middle and Keano and Hartson at the tips
of the minute and hour hands will have to be put on hold. The reason of
course being Celtic's unceremonious dumping out of the Scottish FA Cup by
lowly Clyde. The Bully Wee as they are known by their chums — who now number
chaps who laid Celtic at as low as 1/20 on the betting exchanges! —
certainly ruined the party.

Clyde, who started six players of recognisably Irish descent, are one part
of a kind of alternative Glasgow 'Old Firm'. The other half is comprised of
Partick Thistle. Neither have much that really amounts to a glorious past
although Clyde did win the Scottish Cup in 1939, 1955 and 1958 and Partick
in 1921. So beating either Celtic or Rangers is a big thing. This is
especially true when the big two have highly paid players from all over the
world, including capped internationals.

So you could say that Clyde beating Celtic is the equivalent of Waterford
beating Armagh in football or the Armagh hurlers defeating Waterford. Isn't
sport great! Oh, and whoever sent me that text asking what crap team Keane
is going to play for next ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Finally, word has come in that Steve Staunton is to be the next manager of
the 26-County soccer team. He will be assisted in his task by Sir Bobby
Robson (96). Apparently he was a handy Gaelic footballer himself. Staunton
that is, not Sir Bobby.

An Phoblacht Magazine

AN PHOBLACHT MAGAZINE:

The first edition of this new magazine will feature a 10 page special on the life and legacy of our leader Martin McGuinness to mark the first anniversary of his untimely passing.

It will include a personal reminiscence by Gerry Adams and contributions from the McGuinness family.

There will also be an exclusive interview with our new Uachtarán Mary Lou McDonald.